Highlights From the SADD National Conference

This past June, NIDA attended the Students Against Destructive Decisions’ (SADD) national conference in Chicago to give our partner a sneak peek of the new PEERx materials, which aim to raise awareness in young people about the dangers of prescription drug abuse.

SADD members from across the country came to the conference to discuss real-life issues that affect teens, exchange ideas, and share opinions on current programs that address teens and risky choices like abusing prescription drug abuse or texting while driving.

Red Fingernails Send a Message

We learned about some cool things going on in communities around the United States, including an effort to increase participation in Red Ribbon Week. In case you don’t know, the last week in October each year is a time for communities and individuals to get active in taking a stand against drug abuse. Red Ribbon Week was established in honor of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena, who died at the hands of drug traffickers in Mexico while fighting the battle to stop illegal drugs from coming into our country.

To highlight Red Ribbon Week, some SADD members walked around the conference with nail polish and painted one nail on everyone’s hand red to symbolize that it only takes one bad decision to go down the wrong path. Both girls AND boys did the red fingernail thing, which got a lot of attention!

We had a great time learning about SADD members’ interests and passion to help their peers avoid destructive decisions. Many stopped by the NIDA booth to catch a sneak peek of our Choose Your Path video that just went live as part of PEERx. Let us know what you think.

If you’re a SADD member, say a quick “hello” in the comments section below and let us know what you liked most about the conference. We’d love to hear from you!

The discussion on real-life Issues that affect teens was good. An important part of young people growing up is to get attention and to be seen . It is easy to talk about external factors, but getting recognition and that the adults spend time with young people are most important.

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